Month: February 2016

Most people make their Oscar predictions from official nominations, but this year’s awards are marked by controversy so in that spirit I took some license with mine. Best Picture – At first I picked Spotlight because investigative journalism is dying and the movie makes clear the important role it plays in our society. Then I…

Mad Max: Fury Road vs The Revenant Mad Max: Fury Road This is a quest, a road movie and a rock opera all rolled into one. As far as I can tell (I haven’t seen any of the Mad Max movies), Max was captured by a violent, misogynist dictator who looks like a clown and who…

The Big Short vs Spotlight We’ve reached the “gotcha” portion of our viewing. In Spotlight, a team of intrepid reporters get to the bottom of the Catholic Church pedophile scandal, and in The Big Short a few super smart people get to the bottom of the mortgage scandal. I’m a sucker for a newspaper-based story,…

We’re kicking off the Oscar fortnight with a look at this year’s Best Picture contenders, pitting similar movies against each other in our own Battle of the Best (Picture). Next up: The Martian vs Room (Note: Spoilers ahead.) Both of these movies, adapted from books that I read and enjoyed, portray people trapped in situations that require…

We’re kicking off the Oscar fortnight with a look at this year’s Best Picture contenders, pitting similar movies against each other in our Battle of the Best (Picture). First up: two historical films, Bridge of Spies v Brooklyn. (Note: Spoilers ahead.) Bridge of Spies Tom Hanks plays an insurance lawyer tapped for a pro bono case that nobody wants, but…